Chapter 121 (Daily)
The Xtrema wrestlers were given a day of relief to have to themselves and recover. The day after, Sayuri Rogue returned to her office where his assistant, Ryuji Hashimoto, had awaited for her. She was still sore in some places in her body, but she powered through the aches as she sat in her chair.
"You okay, Ms. Rogue?" Ryuji asked.
"Yeah. I'll live." Sayuri said. "All right. Let's go over our agenda. Give me a refresher."
"A refresher?" Ryuji asked. "Ms. Rogue, it's only been a week since we last looked over our agenda."
"Yeah, but with Xtrema Against the World, it feels more like a year." Sayuri said. "Let's start with our champions."
"Right." Ryuji said. "Well, our World Champion is none other than our ace, Queen Bee, who's been top of our roster for most of Xtrema's life. We also have our TV champion, Clover, who came here by recommendation of Scarlette, the original TV champion. As for our Tag Team champions, it's none other than the Daughters of Darkness, Midnight and Azraella Bloodstone. Word has it that they are just about to initiate Electra Sinders into their order. And lastly, we have Clementine Cirrus as the 24/7 champion. We also have a Yin-Yang Championship, but it's currently vacant until the end of the tournament which we are currently in the middle of."
"Ah, yes. The Yin-Yang Championship." Sayuri reminisced. "A unique belt of my own design meant to symbolize the epic battle between good and evil. The belt is meant to be fought in matches between a face and a heel, which is what our tournament is for. Eight faces face each other along with eight heels, and once here's only one left from each bracket, they fight each other to see if it'll be good who gets the belt first or evil. Speaking of which, what's the status of our brackets again?"
"Well, for the face bracket, we have Amazon Aqua, La Calavera, Cleopatra, and Jun Juli. For the heel bracket, we have Mercy, Eris, N-Bomb, and Mewlie. The Skunk also won the Free Pass Battle Royal, which gives her the right to interject herself into any match in the heel bracket. However, it's worth noting that with Mewlie's injury, we're going to have to find someone else to take her place."
"Right. That." Sayuri said ominously. "Tell me, what's the status of our injured?"
"Well, the doctors say that Mewlie, Mantis, and Azraella Bloodstone will wrestle again, but not for the next couple of weeks." Ryuji said.
"Damn. Hardkor really knows how to earn their name." Sayuri said. "I wouldn't be surprised if they held back at the tag team match to make sure there's still competition. I'm beginning to feel concerned, but let's put a pin in that problem. How far are we at our next PPV?"
"It should be in three weeks."
"Perfect. At our next show, we'll be having the semi-finals of both brackets of the Yin-Yang Tournament, and at the next one, we'll have the finals of both brackets. We can have the winners of each bracket fight it out at the PPV."
"Very good, ma'am. By the way, have you decided on a name for the next PPV? Advertisement's going to want to know as soon as possible."
"Let's see here." Sayuri said thinking about it. "How does Dynamix sound to you?"
"Well, it is unique." Ryuji said. "Anything else you'd like to discuss?"
"Yes. I'd like to know if we've got anyone willing to sign up to be part of the roster." Sayuri said. "After firing that loose cannon, Diana Diaz, it'll be nice to have some new additions."
"Well, we've already guaranteed a spot on the roster for Viper Takagi." Ryuji said. "We've also got so many people who want to sign up to join our company."
"I figured this would happen." Sayuri said. "With the show we put on at Xtrema Against the World, I knew more women would be inspired to join us. Now, run me over who we have so far."
"Seriously?" Tina Armstrong asked her friend as she began packing all her stuff from around the hotel room they both shared.
"You heard me." Mila said. "I've decided to stay and join Xtrema."
"Is this about that Russian girl beating you?" Tina asked. "You're not usually the type who lets losses hit you that hard."
"It's not that." Mila said. "Well, maybe it is that. There's a bit of history between me and her, and I want to see this through to the end."
"So? There's history between me and Clementine too. But you don't see me choosing to stay." Tina said.
"Yes, which makes me wonder why that is." Mila said. "You've been living in Japan for the last few months waiting for Xtrema Against the World. And you put on a good show. It seems like you would fit in nicely as a member of the roster."
Tina looked away and thought for a moment. "I dunno. I mean, you know me. I never stay in one place for long. From wrestler to rock star to movie star to governor candidate. I've never been able to settle."
"Maybe you just haven't found the right place yet." Mila said. "At least give it a try."
Tina thought hard for a moment. "Well, if you say so. I guess I could give it a try."
"So thank you two for coming." Emily Mancini said to her family. She gave a hug to Isaac and an even bigger hug to Jason. All the while, Clover slouched watching from the far side of the apartment. She smiled seeing this happy family bonding moment.
"We're glad to be here." Isaac said. "And thank you for finally opening up to us. Just know that should you decide to return, we'll be waiting."
"In the meantime, keep up the great work!" Jason cheered. "How cool is it that my mom is Scarlette herself?"
Emily laughed. "Thanks, kid."
Isaac turned to the TV Champion. "So you'll look out for her?"
"Of course," Clover said, "Unless we have to face each other. In that case, prepare to see me kick her ass."
"First of all, language in front of my son." Emily said. "And secondly, not if I kick yours first."
"Well, we gotta go." Isaac said. "Take care of yourself."
"Bye Mom!" Jason said.
"Bye, dear." Emily waved goodbye as her family left the apartment. She gave a sigh.
"Having second thoughts?" Clover asked.
"Of course. I mean, they're my family." Emily said. "But still, I'm going to go through with my plan. I'm going to live my wrestling career until the end. Then, and only then, will I be able to return to them."
"That's some solid dedication on your part, Em." Clover said. "Hey, how's about we get you started by hitting the gym?"
"Sounds like a plan." Emily said as she picked up her iconic mask.
"Your constant attitude for betting masks is so repetitive, it's boring, and you don't exactly have a good win record."
That dreaded phone call haunted Black Swan ever since Xtrema Against the World. She didn't even go to the gym since then. She just stayed at home reflecting on her entire career. The next time she left home, she headed to the park and stopped at a lake. She brought her mask and kept staring at it.
She then thought about everyone she ever lost to that ended up unmasking her. It was the ultimate humiliation for any mask luchadora, and she was the most humiliated of all. Black Swan gritted her teeth and squeezed her hands tightly on the mask.
"Black Swan." She said to herself. "What a joke."
She then threw her mask far from her and let it hit the water. As she saw it sink into the bottom of the lake, she felt herself change a lot.
"All Black Swan ever did was risk her life when she knew she couldn't handle it. Always biting off more than she could chew. Well, no more. XAW was a wake-up call for me. It's time to take all the anger and use it to fuel a brand new persona for myself. I have lived in the ashes of my own doing for too long. Now, it's time for a new look. A new persona, one that's more ruthless. Time to rise up brand new like… like an evil phoenix."
*Xtrema Shorts*
Chibi Monica Everly sat in her chair smiling at the audience. She waved at them while being joined by Chibi Black Swan, but she was without her mask.
"Hello, everyone, and welcome to Xtrema Shorts! I am Monica Everly, and here with me, we have the luchadora who, until recently, gone by Black Swan. What shall I call you now?"
"For now, just call me Martina. That's my real name."
"Well, Martina, that was quite a transformation at the end of the chapter. You about to put on a new persona?"
"That's what I said I would do. Now, make with the questions."
"Okay. We have some standard questions along with personal questions asked by our readers, mainly Awesome ax10. Ready?"
"Si."
"Okay then. Question one… Who was your debut opponent?"
"Well, I wanted a masked opponent, but I was denied that. Instead, I got Cleopatra. She was tough and dominated most of the match, but I was lucky enough to pull up with a roll-up pin. Luck wasn't on my side for the rematch though."
"What's it like facing Kaito Marx?"
"At first, I was proud. I mean, I repeatedly beat him and took his mask. Now, it's completely pointless. It's like looking for a rare baseball card only to find an extra-large box full of them making them worthless."
"What do you think of Sayuri Rogue?"
"Pretty okay, I guess. I really enjoyed that fierce Oni mask she wears at her entrances."
"Who's the easiest opponent you've ever faced other than Kaito?"
"Hard to say. But I guess it would be… either one of Team Spirit. I mean, they're both tough, but they were the easiest."
"Okay then. Now that the standard questions are out of the way, let's move onto the more personal stuff. First… what do you plan to do to improve your image after your loss at Xtrema Against the World and Mammy's criticism?"
"As I have already demonstrated, I am done being Black Swan. All she did was take risks that she was not able to back up. I am done being her. But she did leave something though. I was able to keep the memories of her losses in my mind to fuel myself."
"With Kaito's victory in XAW, do you believe you can still beat him?"
"It would be extremely difficult, but I believe so. I mean, he's still weaker than most of the girls on the roster. And so what if he's gotten used to aerial moves. I'm an aerial master. I've got loads more experience than him. So yeah. Even though he's stronger, I'm still stronger than him."
"Do you wear your mask again after losing a mask for mask match? If so, how since it's very important and the match type is supposed to be honored?"
"I'm not estupido. You think the mask I wore was the only one I made. After my first loss, I sewed together another match that looked exactly the same. Same thing after my second loss. After my third, I realized I needed to make a whole set of the same mask just in case. So even though I lose my mask, I still have more where that came from. Or at least, I used to."
"Well, that's some insight. Thank you, Martina. And good luck with your career.
"There you have it, readers. Now that Xtrema Against the World is over, we can now move on to the future. Let's see where it goes. Any and all comments are welcome."